City of Plymouth Under Fire For Allegedly Violating USERRA

Posted on Author WKVI

A complaint has been filed against the City of Plymouth defending the employment rights of Air Force reservist Robert D. DeLee under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

United States Attorney David Capp says USERRA requires employers to reemploy returning service members to the position they would have held, had their employment not been interrupted by military service. USERRA also requires employers to provide the employee with all benefits of employment they would have been entitled to as well had the employee not been called to active duty.

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Burn Ban Still On In Starke County

Posted on Author WKVI

The burn ban in Starke County has once again been extended for two weeks, this time to be reevaluated on Aug. 6 at the commissioners’ regular meeting at 9 a.m.

Campfires, other recreational fires unless enclosed in a fire ring at least 23 inches across and ten inches high, open burning of any kind except grills, and the burning of debris are prohibited. Burning is, however, allowed in burn barrels with a one-quarter inch mesh top from dawn to dusk.

The commissioners and EMA Director Ted Bombagetti will review the conditions and decide whether or not to continue the burn ban at their next regular meeting.

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Winamac Town Board Commends Employees On Swift Storm Cleanup

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Town Hall

The Winamac Town Board commended the town employees on their swift cleanup after the June 29 and July 1 storms that powered through Pulaski County and the 4-H Fair in the Winamac Town Park.

The streets were cleaned up and cleared Sunday, July 1 by 7 p.m. ET, but one board member questioned the street department if the overtime was warranted on Sunday. He felt that the cleanup of fallen trees and brush could have waited until Monday to avoid paying overtime. The standby rate was discussed, but it will addressed further when budget time rolls around.

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Two Arrested In Response To Anonymous Tip In Plymouth

Posted on Author WKVI

The Plymouth Police Department arrested two people after a tip was called into the police department.

On Friday afternoon, a call was received about a strong chemical smell at the Carriage Green Apartments at 1052 Ed Cook Blvd. Three officers approached the complex and one of the suspects reportedly tried climbing a third floor balcony. Upon kicking down the door, police found an active methamphetamine lab along with a two year old child. The two were taken into custody and the child was taken to protective custody and transported to the hospital.

Twenty-four-year-old Jessica Goad and 29-year-old Jason K. Wolff were arrested and they have preliminary charges of Manufacturing and Dealing in Methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a School and Neglect of a Child.

This arrest was the result of a tip called into the Plymouth Police Department’s Drug Tip Hotline. If you have any anonymous tips for police, call 1-800-899-0842.

Company To Prepare Pulaski County Forms For Property Reassessment Values

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

In an effort to save some money, the Pulaski County Commissioners this week approved a motion allowing County Assessor Holly VanDerAa to hire a company to prepare the county’s Form 11s. Form 11s were previously sent to Pulaski County taxpayers whenever the assessed value of their property went up, but VanDerAa says new guidelines from the state require her office to send the forms whenever any change to the assessed value occurs.

VanDerAa says one company offered to prepare and mail the forms to county taxpayers at a cost of $11,486.69 – a steep figure, but when you factor in the cost of postage alone at $8100 and the costs of paper, ink, and the expense to pay employees to stuff and mail the envelopes, she says it’s worth it to have the company do it instead, and Commissioner Ken Boswell agreed.

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SWAT Team Called Into Action For Pulaski County Arrest

Posted on Author WKVI

A Pulaski County man was arrested Sunday after being sought on charges in an arrest warrant.

An anonymous tip was called into the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department that Joshua Thomas Wolfe, 27, was at a residence in Ripley. Tips had also been called into the Sheriff’s Department reporting Wolfe was armed with a pistol.

Four members of the sheriff’s SWAT team surrounded the house and, after numerous attempts to get Wolfe out of the home by using the public address system, the officers began to move toward the home with the intent to enter and take Wolfe into custody. Wolfe then exited the home and surrendered without incident.

Wolfe was being sought on charges of Revocation of Probation for Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, Dealing in Methamphetamine and other charges in surrounding counties. He remains in the Pulaski County Jail.

Knox Man Arrested Following Search of Residence

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Friday after a search warrant was conducted at his residence.

Late Friday night, a search warrant was executed by Starke County officers in the 700 E. block of East State Road 8 in Knox. During the search, officers reportedly found methamphetamine, precursors to manufacture methamphetamine, controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.

Christopher Kennedy was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors, Controlled Substances and Drug Paraphernalia, plus Maintaining a Common Nuisance. He has since bonded out of the Starke County Jail.

West Central Schools Gets a Donated Facelift

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

The West Central School Board discussed the many summer projects in progress and Superintendent Charles Mellon said all of the buildings should be ready for the beginning of the school year in August.

He said one of the buildings got a nice facelift from a resident.

“David Zeltwanger operates a brick laying company and out of the kindness of his heart, he has cleaned the front office outside where we have stone,” said Mellon. “It really looks nice. We also appreciate Alliance Bank for purchasing the cleaning solution.”

Mellon commented that what the school can’t afford to do, the community has stepped forward to cover those bases.

The Final Countdown!

Posted on Author WKVI
WKVI's Tom Berg with the Backstage Studio of Dance flash mob

Tom Berg is entering into the final hours before he sets a Guiness World Record! Tom was surprised by a flash mob yesterday. Several students from the Backstage Studio of Dance performed an impromptu routine as part of Tom’s show to help keep the spirit alive during this world record attempt. Continue reading →

Special Meeting Held Regarding North Judson Industrial Park

Posted on Author WKVI
Charles Weaver
Charles Weaver

A special meeting was held at the North Judson Community Center last week regarding the industrial park, and while nothing definite was decided, the meeting brought together members of the community to share ideas and gather information.

The industrial park has been dormant for quite some time, and the Starke County Economic Development Foundation wanted to work with the North Judson Town Council to put their heads together and come up with some potential possibilities for the development of the park. The meeting also reviewed any current issues with the park.

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Woman Arrested For Allegedly Neglecting Her Autistic Child

Posted on Author WKVI

A Pulaski County Deputy went above and beyond the call of duty concerning the well-being of an eight-year-old autistic boy who had wandered from home after midnight.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a driver early Thursday morning who said a boy was walking in between county roads 300 and 400 South on U.S. 421. The officer saw the boy and introduced himself, and the boy told the officer his name and that he was autistic. The boy then continued walking north on U.S. 421. The officer walked beside the boy and attempted to speak to the boy who didn’t reply. In the meantime, dispatch was attempting to get a hold of the child’s mother but wasn’t having any success. A relative was contacted and picked up the child, who was now with the officer north of the West Central schools.

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Winamac Town Board Approves Ordinance Regarding Plant Removal

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Town Hall

The Winamac Town Board has approved an ordinance concerning the removal of fallen trees, tree limbs, weeds, and rank vegetation.

The ordinance addresses safety and health of the residents of Winamac, and an order will be issued by Town Manager Jim Conner to clean up any uncontrolled, uncultivated growth of annuals, plants, and trees. Winamac residents are responsible for the removal, cutting, or disposal and elimination of weeds, grass and other uncontrolled growth on their property. If someone files a written complaint at the Winamac Town Hall about the overgrown grass or trees on your property, your property will be inspected. If a violation is found, a written notification will be sent to you and you will have seven days to rectify the issue. You will be able to file an appeal.

If you violate any provision of this ordinance, you shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $250.

Starke County Fair Kicks Off Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Fair officially kicks off today! Starting at 6 a.m., 4-H swine, sheep, and goats can be entered until 11 a.m. From 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., contestants for the 4-H cake decorating, flowers, and gardening and crops categories can enter, along with open class foods, food preservation, and hay and grain.

At 10 a.m., fishing opens at the conservation building, and at noon, the 4-H livestock sonoray will take place. Judging for the cake decorating, flowers, and gardening and crops categories will take place at 12:30 p.m., and the poultry, pigeon and waterfowl showing will take place at the poultry and rabbit barn.

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Farmers in Forty-Five Counties Qualify For Disaster Assistance

Posted on Author WKVI

Thirty-six counties in Indiana have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by extreme drought. State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Indiana announced Friday that the USDA will also qualify farm operators in 19 other counties for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous to the designated counties.

Allen, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Daviess, DeKalb, Dubois, Elkhart, Fulton, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Howard, Huntington, Knox, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lawrence, Marshall, Martin, Miami, Noble, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Spencer, Steuben, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Wabash, Warrick, Wells, and Whitley counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas.

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ISTEP Scores Drop At West Central Schools

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

The West Central School Board members discussed ISTEP scores during their recent meeting and Superintendent Charles Mellon said the scores were down this year.

“We have a lot of work to do there Our scores have gone down. I didn’t want to give any off-the-cuff reasons as to why. We’re going to do some in-depth investigation as to the rationale,” Mellon explained.

Mellon said it was a bit of a surprise as the students showed growth in testing throughout the school year.

“A lot of our inside the corporation test scores, like with acuity and so on, show student growth at a good rate. We need to go in and compare some scores and dig a little deeper to see why we’re going in the wrong direction,” said Mellon.

Two Retirees Return To Eastern Pulaski Schools

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board hired two teachers back to the corporation that retired last school year. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said it’s nice to have them back for another year.

“Bus driver, Mrs. Janet Haschel, had decided to retire back in May and come July she decided that bus route wasn’t so bad! She is going to be a bus driver with us again this next year. I’m very pleased to announce that one of our long-time math teachers, Mrs. Jan Moore, has come back with us. When she left, we made her position a part-time position. That half-time position seemed pretty attractive to her so she did apply and the board hired her,” explained Klitzman. (dr klitzman 07-14 #1)

Klitzman says this practice doesn’t happen very often.

Work Release Escapee Returned To Jail

Posted on Author WKVI

After two days fleeing from police, 24-year-old Travis Owens was arrested and returned to the custody of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Owen had walked away from his work release assignment at S & S Precast in Winamac on Tuesday, July 10, just a short time after he had reportedly told a coworker that he “couldn’t handle the time anymore” and he was leaving.

Owens had been working at S & S Precast since June 20 as part of a work release program.

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